Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

Pursuant to standing order 190, I seek leave to make a personal explanation.

Leave granted.

It has been brought to my attention that yesterday, during a press conference with the shadow Attorney-General and others, the shadow minister for home affairs, Senator Keneally, made two false accusations, which I would like to directly address and refute. The issue relates to commitments I made on behalf of the government in the Senate about 12 months ago during the consideration of the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018. I delivered on those commitments made to the Senate to the letter and in full, yet Senator Keneally yesterday, and other Labor members and senators in similar terms in recent weeks, falsely asserted that I did not deliver on those commitments. I pride myself on delivering on my commitments, so I will address the false accusations made in turn.

This is specifically what Senator Keneally said yesterday: 'The Leader of the Government in the Senate, Mathias Cormann, stood on the floor of the Senate and gave an assurance that the government would pass those very amendments when the parliament resumed in February.' Senator Keneally has asserted here that I give an assurance that the government would pass further amendments to the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018 when the parliament resumed in February. This is false. The Hansard clearly and accurately shows that what I actually committed to do on 6 December 2018 on that point was:

… that the government has agreed to facilitate consideration of these amendments in the New Year in government business time.

The government did facilitate consideration of these amendments in the new year in government business time—namely, on 13 February 2019 the government introduced the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2019 into the Senate. During the debate on that bill on 14 February 2019, the opposition moved the various amendments to the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018 that it wanted to move. Those amendments were duly considered by the Senate during government business time, 100 per cent as promised.

This takes me to Senator Keneally's second false assertion, when she said: 'Those amendments—the government has refused now for 12 months to bring them back to the parliament. In the meantime, in the intervening months, the government, in order to avoid having any amendments put forward, have instituted a series of reviews.' This is also false and misleading. Firstly, at the instigation of the Labor Party, the government on 6 December last year agreed to a second reading amendment to ensure the PJCIS 'conduct a review of the operation of the amendments made by this bill and report on that review by 3 April 2019'. The government agreed to this in good faith at the request of the Labor Party and so did the Senate. In its April 2019 report, the PJCIS made a bipartisan request for further time—

Senator Keneally interjecting—

Senator Keneally doesn't understand the importance of bipartisanship inside the PJCIS. In its April 2019 report, the PJCIS made a bipartisan request for 'further time for the PJCIS to complete its third review of the legislation'. Again, the government acted entirely in good faith by acting on the bipartisan request from the PJCIS—that is, the second review was a result of a Senate vote sought by Labor and supported by the government; the further reviews are as a result of a bipartisan request by the PJCIS for an extension or are required by law, in the case of the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor review. It is important to understand the time line.

In passing the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018 last year, the Senate agreed to refer the amendments to be made by this bill to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security in order to conduct a review of the operation of the amendments made by this bill and report on that review by 3 April 2019. Separately, on 27 March 2019, the PJCIS referred the act to the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor for review and report by 1 March 2020. That's the PJCIS, which includes the Labor Party. The PJCIS advised that it would consider any findings or recommendations in its own review of the act. That is why on 3 April 2019 the PJCIS made further recommendations following the second review of the assistance and access act. These recommendations related to the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor review, resourcing for oversight bodies and requesting further time for the PJCIS to complete its third review of the legislation.

On 9 April the chair of the PJCIS, Mr Andrew Hastie MP, on behalf of the committee, wrote to the Prime Minister requesting that legislation be introduced to defer the committee's reporting date on the assistance and access act to 30 September 2020 at the request of the PJCIS—a bipartisan request including the Labor Party. On 17 October 2019 the government published its response accepting those recommendations. On the same day, the government introduced the assistance and access amendments review bill, which defers the date for the PJCIS to complete its third review of the legislation until 30 September 2020, as requested by the PJCIS, including the Labor Party. It is important to ensure the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor and the committee have the time they need to complete comprehensive and thorough examinations of the assistance and access act and its impacts, including time to engage with industry and the public.

Finally, I also said on behalf of the government that we supported in principle all amendments to this bill that are consistent with PJCIS recommendations. That remains our position. When the PJCIS recommendations come forward we will act on them, as we always do.

The reason I put this on the record is that ever since Senator Keneally joined the PJCIS she has sought to politicise what always must be a bipartisan committee acting in our national interest. She has made false and inaccurate accusations and assertions and she has sought to play politics with our national security. Australians should be very concerned about Senator Keneally's constant propensity for political stunts involving our national security. Moreover, this is yet another inappropriate attempt to weaken our national security laws and to somehow create the impression that the government did not follow through on the commitments we made when we followed through on those commitments to the letter, as we always do.